After three days of learning and debating the current state of business and science in the microbiome, probiotic and prebiotic space, our co-chairs of the IPA World Congress + Probiota 2018 share their own thoughts and personal take-away messages.

Organised by the publishers of NutraIngredients​, in partnership with the International Probiotics Association (IPA), more than 300 leading figures from the global probiotic, prebiotic and microbiome industry came together last week for the IPA World Congress + Probiota 2018.

Held in Barcelona for the first time, the three day event brought together the latest insights from science, regulation and business to provide those in the room with the ultimate event to bridge the gap between the worlds of business and scientific research.

Now, our event co-chairs Nathan Gray, George Paraskevakos and Will Chu share their personal highlights and important take-away points from the congress.

“What really jumped out at me was infant nutrition – particularly during the first 1,000 days,”​ commented NutraIngredients science editor Will Chu. “I really saw that as a window of opportunity. Not only for the health of the child but also for the mother.”​

Meanwhile, George Paraskevakos said the work commissioned by the IPA as part of the IPA updates session provided important information for the industry in terms of guidelines and best practices, but that the low number of ongoing trials in the space – as highlighted in a presentation by Dr Ger Rijkers – was a particular surprise.

“The other thing that stood out … is the amount of probiotic clinical work that is happening,”​ said George Paraskevakos – noting that there has been a recent upsurge in interest in the microbiome and probiotics for the treatment of disease states which were reflected by talks that looked at the potential for microbiome therapies and the use of probiotics as novel therapies for conditions including depression and cancer.

Nathan Gray, senior editor at NutraIngredients added that his key take away points related to the potential for the microbiome to have an influence on sports and sporting performance – suggesting that we have ‘only just begun to scratch the surface’ of the potential relationships in the area.